Pregnancy: Leave of Absence

Baby at 20 Weeks

I'm back. I apologize for taking leave since, well, it looks like December 19, 2013. But really it was a few months earlier when I stopped blogging. I had several blogs in a row scheduled to go out automatically.

Here's the reason for my departure: I stopped blogging because I was feeling a little out of control. And I hate being out of control.

I pride myself on being a hard worker. Usually hard work, and nothing but hard work, creates success for me. I may not be the most brilliant or talented one in the room, but I do the research, ask questions, and complete work while following the rules and recommendations of others. In school, especially college, I was always the group leader. I knew how to get that A even if someone got sick or someone wasn't a great presenter. I'd take on the work of several people to get us to the finish line. Nothing could stand in my way (or our way in terms of the group). I had a plan for success.

I had anything but success for about three years while my husband and I tried for kids on our own. I had a second very early miscarriage, we lost two grandparents all in the span of one year, and we had a personal crisis in terms of the direction our lives were going.  And that's when I stopped blogging. We needed to regroup.

Below is my husband's poem on the matter that I think encapsulates all the emotions we were feeling.

Atonement

Last week, three students presented their reports on teen pregnancies.
I heard that they are out of control
Babies having babies
And we should keep it in our pants, one guy says.
Blame sex education, a girl says.
The statistics are ridiculously high, says a third.

You want statistics?
Make love to a cup
And spill 15 million sperm
When the norm is 60-200 million.
Track basal body temperature
And pull apart the mucus
Stringing it out like eggs
Peeing on sticks
To find
28.2 day cycles
Ovulation on day 14.
Have sex on demand
For 33 months
Take a whole bottle of zinc pills
And choke down the giant folic acids.
Try not to read the local hospital advertisement
“Delivering precious cargo”
Transforming a baby into a technological artifact;
Place the order and wait
The package will arrive
As scheduled.
Write an email to your parents
And type out “miscarriage” in the subject line
The package was dropped.
Name it Bill. John. Ava.
Does it matter?
I called her Lucy.
That’s my favorite.
And I always wanted a girl.
Hear the churchgoers say “relax”
Learn yoga.
Renovate a bathroom.
Pretend that you don’t have an empty bedroom
And a crib in the attic.
Visit my sisters
And my four nephews and one niece.
It feels like more
And more on the way.
Everyone calls them blessings
From the Lord.
Gifts bestowed on all
The obese couple at the basketball game
The divorced couple down the street
The student athlete’s girlfriend puking in the bathroom.
Read the scripture:
What father would give bad gifts to his children?
And invert it.
What father would deny me the gift of being a father?

Look, now, at the red lump of tissue
Sunk to the bottom of the toilet bowl
The life-giving blood
Dead. Or dying.
I touched it with a straw to be sure
Trying to draw Lucy back to me.
Feel my wife grabbing me,
Pulling me close as we were atoned
Before the sun was even awake.

Moving Forward

I hate to dwell on that period of time too much. We had three years of dwelling and we still worry more than we should when the days get tough or we take another medical test. Now, I want to focus on the fact that we're pregnant. We've been blessed with a little one who is currently growing in my tummy as I type (see the latest sonogram above). Baby G is due October 12, 2015. We had some wonderful help from the folks at the Fertility Center in San Antonio. If we had known making a baby was that easy (relatively speaking), we might have seen them a year earlier (although I'm sure everything worked out the way God wants it to be). They are world renown. I highly recommend them! Let me know if you want their contact information.

In the beginning there was...sound. Baby G is currently learning to hear. We're playing music, talking, and reading books to baby G. She's also been kicking up a storm. She loves movement, so when I'm not moving, she is. And sometimes she wants to move with me. I think she likes doing dishes, which is great. She can help later on. :) And, if you haven't gathered, Baby G is a girl. We're start finalizing names. It's exciting times!

Also, I'm going to start blogging again regularly. Some of it will be about being pregnant and others about my Allergic to Sitting hobbies and ideas like before. My creative juices are flowing, and I'm ready to share.

Welcome if you are new to my blog, thank you all for giving me another chance to share with you if you're an old fan, and also bless you for being supportive if you knew of our struggles.

God bless!

Cook: Gluten-free and Vegan Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Pretzels

Check out my latest recipe:

Craft: Ruffle Tree Skirt

It's getting closer to Christmas, so I thought I'd take on a sewing project for the holidays. The Assessor and I purchased a spectacular tree several years ago when we moved into our house, but we went with the cheapest of the cheap tree skirts to just get by. We are now just getting by no more!

Thanks to some research on Pinterest (to maintain my dignity, won't tell you how many hours I spend pinning) I found several examples of tree skirts that I wanted to steal ideas from. You can see several of them on my Holiday and Gift Ideas Board (just scroll down a bit). 

I settled on making a sewed ruffle skirt. However, most of the ruffled version I found were "no-sew," quick versions. Don't get me wrong! I love no-sew and quick, but I also like machine washable. So I decided to follow the Pinterest versions general plans, but hem all the fabric so they wouldn't fray in the wash.

Here're the steps I took to make the tree skirt above:

1) Gathering the Materials

I went to Walmart and purchased four different polyester/cotton blended fabrics.

• 2 yards of light tan with printed leaves (the fabric used for the outermost circle)
• 1 yard of plain tan fabric
• 1 yard of gold satin fabric
• 1 yard of plain brown fabric

I also decided to use an old white twin-sized bed sheet, that I owned already, as a base to sew all of the ruffles on top.

2) Making the Base (or Bottom) Fabric

To make the base with the old white bed sheet, I folded the bed sheet in half and drew two semi-circles, one for the outer edge and a smaller one for the tree trunk (on the fold), using a method similar to the one on this Web site and this Youtube video. Then I cut a slit from the outside to the inner hole and sewed a hem along the outside edge of the cut skirt. Finally, I hemmed the edge of the skirt.

3) Preparing the Ruffled Fabric

I cut strips of fabric, one yard width and about 6-7 inches tall and hemmed the bottom edge. I say "6-7" inches because some of the material I bought was taller than others (the gold satin fabric was from a much taller bolt of fabric than the others).

4) Sew the Outer Ring of Fabric

Then I pinned and sewed the outer ring of fabric. I let the ruffle fabric overhang the outer edge of the tree skirt by about an inch. I had to sew multiple 1-yard strips together to cover the whole outer edge.

5) Mark the Location of the Remaining Ruffled Fabric

Since my ruffling fabric was not all exactly the same width (some were about 6 inches and others were 7), I placed and marked the edge of where I wanted to sew the layers.

6) Add the Marks Around the Entire Skirt

I took a tape measure and temporarily marked (with a pencil) on the tape measure the distance between the edge of the skirt and each of the marks original marks. Then I moved and copied those marks around the edge of the skirt (using a similar method to the one I used to create a perfect circle)

6) Sew the Rest of the Ruffled Fabric

Pin and sew the rest of your fabric starting from the outside working inward to the middle of the skirt.

7) You're Done!

Voila! There you have it! Feel free to add some sparkles or your own touch.

Cook: Vegan No-Bake Pumpkin Spice Caramel Popcorn

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With the changing of the seasons, I've had a hankering for something caramel. Caramel apples, caramel popcorn, caramel caramel (you get the point). But all store bought caramel (at least locally) contains cow milk products.

So I did a little research and found a recipe I could make my own and make it milk free. Below is the result.

I only have two words of warning to keep in mind while making this.

1. After you've mixed the vanilla and baking soda, pour the entire contents on top of the popcorn in one sweep and start mixing quick so that you get an uniform coating before everything cools.
2. Once you have a bite, you might not stop. If you're planning on taking some to a party or making some as a gift, don't sample. :)

Cook: Superhero Cooking Oils Series, Canola Oil as Cyclops

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According to IGN, Cyclops has lost two wives, reunited with his space pirate father, discovered two lost brothers, fought beside both a son and daughter from alternate futures, and defended The Dream as a knight might protect the Holy Grail. Through all of this, he's still standing.  He's X-Men's golden boy and mutant in charge next to Professor X (source).

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I'd like to think of canola oil as Cyclops. No drama (or recipe) is too much for this singular vision. Just check out the specs below (everything is from wikipedia).

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Canola Oil

• Contains large amounts of monounsaturated fats, low amounts of saturated fats, and presence of Omega-3s (good for the heart, just like Mr. Univision).
• Includes anti-inflammatory properties (so you can stay svelte like Mr. Cool).
• Looks light and clear with relatively little flavor (ready for any action).
• Comes highly recommended for replacing extremely unhealthy solid fats like stick butter as well as slightly less healthy oils such as soy and peanut (can be substituted in equal amounts). Professor X can't make it? Send in Cyclops. Wolverine going crazy? Send in the Cyclops. So let it be with canola oil.
• Is created from cold-pressing the seeds of the rapeseed plant, which is a cousin to Brussels Sprouts and cabbage (mustard family). Canola oil, like Cyclops, comes from good stock.
• Works best at 375-450 degrees F, which is good for high heat recipes including sauces, and deserts, grilling, stir-fry, and coating pans. Canola oil is calm under pressure just like the man, the one and only Cyclops.
• Helps with leavening as well as tenderizing and moisturizing food (gentle and smooth).

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(Cyclops and canola oil have heart)

So don't be afraid to pull out the canola oil instead of corn or butter! Your body will thank you for it!

Cook: GF French Toast

After a much needed vacation away from the world of blogging, vlogging, and addictive Facebook posting, I'm ba-ack!

I've got some great ideas for some upcoming blogs and videos, included a continuation of my series on oils, sewing and woodworking DIYs, a music video about how much I'm glad that I'm no longer eating gluten and milk products, and new recipes! I'll also be re-designing my YouTube page since they've made some changes while I've been away.

Also I think I've found a great online organizer for my recipes that I'll be embedding into my blog. So you can either read my blog for recipes like the one below, or go directly to http://www.kitchenmonki.com/blogger/allergictosittingcom.1. So keep checking back each week!

Below is a recipe for GF French Toast. Did you know that French Toast was originally created in order to make stale bread more palatable? That's why dryer bread is best for making french toast. It'll soak up more of the milk and eggs.

Using dry GF bread is essential to this recipe because GF bread tends to be more on the dense and less absorbent side right out of the bag (or out of your bread maker). Try drying your bread in an uncovered container in the fridge or leave some slices out over night.

Vacation -- It's "Away From the Computer" Time

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In order to re-charge my creative juices, I'm going on a blog (and work) vacation until August. Unless I have a brilliant idea just pop up, I won't be blogging for a while. Have a great summer everyone and stay cool!